LOS ANGELES – A lawsuit has been filed against a California company, alleging that the company regularly sends unwanted prerecorded messages to individuals registered with the National Do Not Call Registry.
Plaintiffs Floyd Steve Bales and Edward Newman, Jr. filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Freedom Forever, LLC, alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA).
According to the lawsuit, in the summer of 2021, the plaintiffs began to receive numerous autodialed, prerecorded phone calls from California-based company Freedom Forever to solicit business for the company Bright Solar. The plaintiffs state that they never gave the defendant permission to call them, let alone send them prerecorded messages. Bales adds that his phone number has been registered with the National Do Not Call Registry since July 19, 2018.
According to the lawsuit, the TCPA states that no entity shall initiate a telephone solicitation to anyone who has registered their phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry and that telephone solicitors must maintain a list of persons who request not to receive telemarketing calls. The lawsuit states that numerous consumers have posted complaints online that the defendant regularly makes phone calls to individuals on the National Do Not Call Registry in violation of the TCPA.
In addition, Bales is resident of the state of Florida, where the FTSA is in effect. The FTSA states that is a violation to “make or knowingly allow a telephonic sales call to be made if such call involves an automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers or the playing of a recorded message when a connection is completed to a number called without the prior express written consent of the called party.”
The plaintiffs state that the unauthorized solicitation phone calls have caused them annoyance, occupied their phone lines, disturbed the use and enjoyment of their phones, and invaded their privacy.
The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial to seek damages for each violation for each person covered by the class action lawsuit, plus any other relief the court deems proper. They are also seeking injunctive action to order the defendant to cease all unsolicited calling activity. The plaintiffs are represented in this case by attorney Rachel Elizabeth Kaufman, of Kaufman, P.A. in Coral Gables, Florida.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 5:23-CV-01899